What's "Bee Better"?
I launched Bee Better with a video—give it a watch to learn more!
The general gist of it is that I’m re-visting projects I shared in the early days of Humblebee & Me, applying things I’ve learned since launching. Each project will talk about why I’m making different decisions—it’s a fun way to learn!
Strawberry Body Yogurt
You’ve almost certainly heard of the rather dairy-product-sounding "body butter"; but what about the equally dairy-ish body yogurt? Think of body yogurt as body butter’s ultra-light cousin: a fast-absorbing and super-slippy body moisturizer that is low on rich oils...
Lavender Oat Dream Cream
Today we are diving deep into the archives to Bee Better a project I published almost exactly nine (!!) years ago. This formulation began life as a Lush dupe(ish), and while the 2014 version wasn't bad, I've learned a lot since then. Today's updated version is softer...
Hot Chocolate Lip Butter
We're continuing our Hot Chocolate holiday making theme with some tubes of the sort of lip butter I need in the winter. It's rich, creamy, and most importantly, long-wearing. This stuff sticks around for hours—an absolute must when it's cold, dry, and generally bleh...
Extra Creamy Green Clay Cleansing Balm
This Extra Creamy Green Clay Cleansing Balm is a Bee Better version of 2017's Forest Cleansing Balm. That formula was one of the first anhydrous formulas I made with fatty thickeners and I remember being absolutely blown away by its rich, creamy, slippy consistency...
Chocolate Hazelnut Emulsified Body Butter
I'm sharing this decadent Chocolate Hazelnut Emulsified Body Butter formulation to celebrate World Nutella Day, which falls on February 5. It's definitely the sort of holiday I can get behind 🤤 This formulation is a Bee Better update to a 2014's Chocolate...
Creamy Clay Balm-to-Milk Cleanser
Today's Creamy Clay Balm-to-Milk Cleanser is a Bee Better update to 2016's Creamy Clay Cleansing Balm. It's a rich, slippy, gentle facial cleanser that rinses off the skin beautifully. True to the name, it's creamy and contains a hefty dose of soft white kaolin clay...
Peppermint Beeswax Lip Balm
If you love Burt's Bees lip balm, you should definitely try this formulation. I've been working on this project for months, testing and adjusting and comparing it to the original and circling back and trying again, and I think I've gotten really, really close. I...
DIY Pressed Shimmer Eyeshadow
It's been almost five years since my first book, Make it Up: The Essential Guide to DIY Makeup and Skin Care, was released (!). I'm still really proud of it, but today I want to share an update to the eyeshadow formulation that I think is a pretty big upgrade. It's...
Rich Mocha Hand & Body Lotion
If you adore the combination of sweet, rich cocoa and intoxicating coffee, this Rich Mocha Body Lotion will be right up your alley ☕️ It stars gorgeous unrefined cocoa butter and espresso-coloured, ultra-fragrant coffee oil—you'll be tempted to taste it,...
Summer Glow Body Oil
Today I'm sharing a Bee-Bettering of one of my most popular formulations on YouTube; my Luminous Summer Body Oil. The original formulation is almost exactly four years old, published on July 6, 2017 (!). I'd made shimmer oils before the 2017 version; the general...
More Mango Sulfate-Free Shampoo Bar
Today I'm sharing my first shampoo bar Bee Better project—this More Mango Sulfate-Free Shampoo Bar is an update on the Mango Mango Shampoo Bar I shared in March 2019 (almost exactly two years ago!). In writing, the differences between this updated formulation and its...
Shealoe Emulsified Body Butter
Today I'm sharing my first Bee Better 3.0 project; a soft and creamy Shealoe Emulsified Body Butter that's an evolution on a shea butter and aloe vera heavy formulation I first shared in 2014, and then revised in 2019. This updated 2021 version uses a new emulsifier...
Autumn Spice Whipped Body Butter
This decadent Autumn Spice Whipped Body Butter is a Bee Better of a Whipped Pumpkin Spice Body Butter I shared back in 2016. This updated version features fully percentage-ified measurements, a safer scent blend, and a new whipping method. Starring lightweight mango...
Hemp & Shea Hand and Body Lotion
This silky Hemp & Shea Hand and Body Lotion is another Bee Better project, riffing on and updating the Healing Herbal Hemp & Shea Lotion I shared back in October 2014. This version keeps many of the same ingredients and very much riffs on the same themes of...
Summer Glow Body Lotion
Today's DIY is another Bee Better project—an update of the Summer Shimmer Body Lotion I shared back in 2015 (over five years ago!). This lotion is lightweight and packs a serious shimmery punch to leave you glowing like a summer sunset. You can easily customize the...
Argan Rose In-Shower Body Conditioner
Today we're revisiting a project I first shared in May 2014—a rich body lotion inspired by a popular LUSH product—as part of my Bee Better work. This six-years-later update features a new emulsifier, fully percentage-ified amounts, clearer instructions, and a hefty...
Winter Solstice Facial Gel Cream
It's time for another Bee Better project with a revamp of my first-ever face cream—2014's Winter Solstice Face Cream. This new version uses several newer skin-loving ingredients to create an even better facial lotion that is designed to deeply hydrate and strengthen...
Shine & Detangle Conditioning Hair Rinse
Today's project is a Bee Better for the Shine & Detangle ACV Hair Rinse I shared back in 2013. I had a lot of fun revisiting this one, taking lots of inspiration from the name rather than the original ingredients, and working in lots of what I've learned about...
Rich Shealoe Butter Cream
This decadent Rich Shealoe Butter Cream is the first project I'm tackling in my Bee Better series; it's an update of the Homemade Shealoe Butter Cream I shared back in February 2014. The idea was to create my own shealoe butter type product, inspired by the plethora...
